Puzzle.



E. H. JOHNSON.

PUZZLE. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 10. 1911.

Patented Oct. 29, 1918.

In: Name: pun: co. Pnormunw. wAsMmcmM. a a

ELMER H. JOHNSON, OF NORTH BENNINGTON, VERMONT.

PUZZLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Get. 29, 191%.

Application filed December 10, 1917. Serial No. 206,491.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, Emma H. JOHNSON, a citizen of the Jnited States,residing at North Bennington, in the county of Bennington and State ofVermont, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Puzzles,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to puzzle or game devices and has as its objectto provide a device of this class which will prove highly interestingand which will require the exercise of judgment as to distances, thusproving instructive as well as interesting.

Another object of the invention is to provide a puzzle which may bemanufactured at a relatively low cost, which will occupy but littlespace, and which in various other ways will be particularly desirablefrom a commercial point of view.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the classmentioned which will possess an educational value in a sense that itwill enable one to become more or less familiar with geographicalsubjects.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a plan View of the base of the device embodying the presentinvention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the member which is to be movedover the base in the solving of the puzzle or playing of the game;

Fig. at is a view partly in elevation and partly in section illustratinga slight modification. of the invention.

The base of the device embodying the present invention is preferably inthe nature of aflat board 1 which may be of wood or any other suitablematerial, and upon the upper side of which is secured in any suitablemanner a facing sheet 2. It will be understood, however, that the upperface of the board 1 may in itself comprise the playing surface of thebase, in which event the sheet 2 may be dispensed with, and that thesaid board 1 may be made either of wood, or of metal or any othersuitable material. in any event the playing surface of the base hasdepicted thereon at one side, a portion of the map of the United States,as indicated by the numeral 3, and at the other side a greater or lessportion of the maps of two of the allied nations, namely, England andFrance, as indicated by the numeral 4, the

intermediate portion of the surface of the base representing, of coursethe Atlantic ()cean. At this point it may be stated that the memberwhich is to be moved over the surface of the base is in the nature of aminiature ship and the object in view in solving the puzzle is to movethis ship from a starting point at the coast line of the United States,to an objective point, which 111 the present instance is the point representing Bordeaux, France, certain interme diate points representingsubmarines and being located between the starting and objective pointsand to be avoided by the ship in its passage from the starting point tothe objective point. There may be one or any desired number of startingpoints indicated upon the face of the base and in the present instanceone of these points, indicated by the numeral 5, has approximately thelocation of New York city upon the map of the United States, and anotherstarting point, indicated by the nume al 6, may be located, for example,at a point in the Atlantic coast line of Florida. The objective pointindicated in general by the numeral 7, is suitably designated upon thesurface of the base as Bordeaux. The portions of the map representingthe United States and the allied nations above referred to may be moreor less complete in the designation of cities, ports, etc. At thestarting point 5 the base is formed with a socket 8, and a similarsocket 9 is formed at the starting point 6. There is also formed in thebase a socket 10 which is represented as located at the objective point7. The base is also formed between the starting and objective pointswith a plurality of variously spaced sockets 11, and some f thesesockets are especially designated to indicate the positions ofsubmarines which must be avoided by the movable member of the devicerepresenting the ship. Thus, for example, the particular sockets ustmentioned be indicated by the abbreviation Sub as at 12, or some othersuitable indicating device or means may be employed. The sockets S, 9,10 and 11 may be'formed to extend completely through the base shown inFig. 1, or only partly through the base, or in a less expensiveembodiment of the invention the various starting, objective andintermediate points might be merely designated by dots, printed orotherwise depicted upon the playing surface of the base.

The member which is movable across the board or base is as above statedin the nature of a miniature ship comprising a body 13 which in thatform of the invention shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings is provided uponits under side withdownwardly projecting studs 14: which are definitelyspaced with relation to each other and are relatively immovable beingintegral with the body 13. By comparison of Figs. 1 and 3 it will beobserved that while the sockets in the surface of the base are variouslyspaced with relation to one another, each socket is spaced from one ormore adjacent sockets a distance equal to the distance between the studs14 upon the body 13. Thus when the miniature ship 13 is so disposed uponthe board that one of its studs will seat in any one of the sockets, oneor several other sockets will be located 011 the circle which would bedescribed by the other one of the studs 14 in swiveling the miniatureship about the firstmentioned-stud as a pivot. One or several othersockets may be so spaced from the first mentioned socket as to belocated within the circle and the greater number of the other socketswill be located exteriorly of the circle, but the studs 14 can only besimultaneously engaged in the sockets which are spaced apart a distanceequal to the distance between the studs. Therefore, in solving thepuzzle the miniature ship will first be placed in position upon theplaying surface of the base with one of its studs engaging in the socket8 or the socket 9 either as desired, and the ship will then be swiveledabout this stud as a center until its other stud engages in a relatedsocket, by which is meant one of the sockets 11 spaced from the startingpoint a distance equal to the distance between the studs 14,-. The shipmay then be swiveled upon its last-mentioned stud until itsfirstmentioned stud engages in one of the sockets 11 related to thesocket in which the said last-mentioned stud is seated, and thisswivcling of the ship is to be continued until the ship has been broughtto position with the engagement of either of its studs 14. in the socket10 at the objective point 7, with the exception that the ship must notbe swiveled by engaging either of its studs in any ofthe socketsindicating the positions of submarines, although these particularsockets are each related to one or more other sockets in which-the studs14 may properly enga It will be understood, of course, that in thatsimplified form of the invention above referred to in which the surfaceof the board is provided with dots to indicate the intermediate pointsinstead of with sockets, the

studs 14- are to be merely brought into registration with the dots andthe miniature ship carefully swiveled upon the studs. However, it is, ofcourse, preferable to make use of the sockets as in this manner theswiveling points for the ship are positively determined and maintainedduring the back and forth turning of the ship in working it across thesurface of the base.

In that form of the invention shown in Fig. 4: of the drawings, the basemay be pro vided with upstanding studs 15 which take the place of thesockets 8, 9, 10 and 11, and the body of the ship may be formed withspaced sockets 16 to receive said studs 15 and corresponding to thestuds 1 1 in the previously described form of the invention. In theclaims I will make reference to idle sockets and idle points and by thisexpres sion I refer to the sockets or points which represent thelocation of submarines.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A puzzle comprising a basehavinggeographical outlines on its surfacealong opposite edges with objectives located on said outlines, thesurface of the base being further provided with a plurality of variouslyspaced intermediate points, some of said intermediate points being idleand having danger indications adjacent thereto, and a manuallymanipulable member having definitely spaced points to be engaged with anobjective and successively and selectively engaged with intermediatepoints whereby the member will be moved across the base to engage asecond objective, each intermediate point being spaced from one on moreadjacent points a, distance equal to the distance betweenthe points 011the member.

2. A puzzle comprising a base having geographical outlines on itssurface along opposite edges with objectives located on said outlines,the surface of the base being further provided with a plurality ofvariously spaced intermediate points, some of said intermediate pointsbeing idle and having danger indications adjacent thereto, and amanually manipulable member having definitely spaced points to beengaged with an objective and successively and selectively engaged withintermediate points whereby the member will be moved across the base toengage a second objective, each intermediate point being spaced from oneor more adjacent points a distance equal to the distance be tween thepoints on the member, the points upon the manually manipulab-le memberbeing located at the under side thereof and spaced inwardly from thesides and ends of the member whereby to be hidden from yiew when themember is viewed substantially from above.

'In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

ELMER H. JOHNSON. [n s.]

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five' cents each,byaddi'essing the Commissioner of Batents, Washington, D. G.

